Raki Road

Day 1

Arrival 

Landed in Tirana and took a cab (arranged by the King of Komani, Mario Molla; more on him later) to Shkodra. Settled into our airbnb apartment, bought some food, walked around a bit,

went to bed at about 7:30 and slept for 10 hours.

Day 2

Shkodra to Lake Komani to Valbona

Our airbnb host drove us to the town center to meet up with the van driver from Komani. Drove to Komani Lake where we took the 2 hour ferry trip.

It's a beautiful winding lake, more like a flooded valley, with lots of high cliffs, hills and peaks. * When I first read about Mario Molla, for some reason I was under the impression that he was one guy with a van and a little boat, who would pick you up at the airport, take you for a boat ride, and drive you on to your next destination. It turns out that he is more of an all-purpose travel facilitator/fixer/impresario, with lots of connections, subcontractors, etc. He/it is a multifacted enterprise. The Mario Molla brand is omnipresent in Shkodra and Komani.  http://www.komanilake.com/ It was very reassuring to hane our hands held for this initial portion of our journey.

For two of us, the 87 km taxi ride, 56 km ride to the lake, 2-hour  boat ride, and 69 km ride to our guest house in Valbona cost 100 euros.

The foundation of our trip was a 6-day stay at Rezidenca,

the fancy guest house affiliated with Rilindja,

the all-purpose hostel, campground, restaurant, information source, etc. I learned about it from this fantastic website: http://www.journeytovalbona.com/  The people who run this place are amazing. They can formally arrange for English-speaking trail guides for the day, or just offer some helpful suggestions for the DIY types on which trails might be appropriate for their skill level (which in our case, is officially classified as “Whimpering”). Between that, keeping track of all of the guests coming and going, running the restaurant, and coordinating continued improvements to their properties, plus being very involved with the local school, I have no idea where they get their energy.

Our guest house is about 1 km from Rilindja, about a 20-minute walk. We ate breakfast and dinner there, and usually stopped for a post-hike beer for Bhob, so that’s plenty of walking right there. We had a room on the top (third) floor with a kick-ass view from the balcony.

Since we arrived at about 4 PM, after settling in and dinner (during which we had the pleasure of sitting next to a tour group which included a delightful 70-something British woman who was completely enthusiastic and unabashed about learning correct pronunciation of Albanian), our day was pretty much over.

*Our waiting time for the boat, the boat ride, and the ride to Valbona were accompanied by the unavoidable presence of the lascivious, philistine New Zealander (“You’re French? Do you work at Moulin Rouge? Heh heh.” “Where should I stuff my sausage? Heh heh.” His job? Sales and marketing for a paint ball business. Of course it is.), and his drawling young Aussie whippersnapper pal (“oh yeeaaahhh, I’ve done aaaall the Balkans: Croaaaaaaatia, Seeeeeerbia, Albaaaaaaaania…. In 10 years, Tiraaaaana will be the new Paaaaaris, and no one even knoooows it yet.”) Except you, young Aussie whippersnapper. Except you.

Day 3

Valbona

Breakfast was included with the price of the room (about $45 a night for 2), and it was  epic: coffee or tea**, bread, gjize (a white cheese that is kind of like feta, but less salty, wet & crumbly, more dry & squeaky), a big crepe with fruit preserves, sausage, and scrambled eggs with vegetables. And yes, I ate it all.

For our first hike, we opted for the “easy” river trail, which follows the Valbona river.

 
It didn’t look very challenging on a map, but there were some fairly steep ravines.

 I should say at this point that we were in quite a bit over our head, as we aren’t actually “Hikers” but “Ramblers”. Wearing Easy Spirit walking shoes(me) and steel-toed work boots (Bhob), and our training being nothing more than our 3-mile daily walks in very flat St. Paul, we were not sufficiently prepared  for this kind of terrain. The Superior Hiking Trail had fooled me into thinking that hiking trails all had stairs, handrails and a soft carpet of moss and pine needles. On the up side, I was utterly impressed and proud of how Bhob was able to boldly face his aversion to hornets/yellow jackets and rickety foot bridges.

**Whenever tea is mentioned during this trip, it is always referring to the Albanian mountain tea, which tastes to me like sage, and is very grounding and satisfying.

Day 4

Valbona

We thought we'd take the trail past Kukaj, and just walk for 2 1/2- 3 hours, them turn around and come back. As we went along, we thought we'd attempt the Majaj e Rosit loop, as described in one of the trail maps, but we missed the turn and ended up doing what we'd planned to do originally. On the way back, we stopped at a little guest house/cafe and met the lovely family who runs it.

 Bhob had coffee, and I had tea, and we were fortunate to have the elder son of the family around to help translate, as I know only a few words of Albanian. They gave us a tour of the very recently refurbished guest house, complete with 3 showers with solar water heaters.

The most important rule I learned about hiking in the mountains is that if there is a place to stop for a beverage in what seems like the middle of nowhere, by all means, stop for a beverage, even if you aren't thirsty. 

I should mention at this point that the daily high temperatures for all but the last 2 days of the trip were in the mid- to upper-90s Fahrenheit. If you know anything about Bhob and me, you know that we are delicate flowers, so we tried to be finished with our days' activities by 1 PM or so, and spend the rest of the afternoon in the shade or in the air-conditioned indoors.

Day 5

Valbona

The trail from Valbona to Thethi is one of those "must do" routes for serious hikers. We planned our usual MO of going for 2 1/2-3 hours, then turning around. We paid to get a ride to the trail head, which was 6 km down a brand new asphalt road, and then a few km on dry riverbed that only a 4WD vehicle could manage.

Plums!

After completing the first rather steep (by our whimpering standards) ascent to a lovely meadow,

 

we saw that the trail ahead went way, WAY up.

 I am long past the point in life of needing to impress people, challenge myself and rack up bragging rights, so we decided it was a good time to turn around. We stopped at Simoni Café for a coffee and a stream-cooled iced tea, and enjoyed a pleasant conversation with the friendly proprietor (and ballpoint pen enthusiast).

When given the choice between somewhat risky, punishing physical exertion, and talking to nice people and enjoying a tasty beverage, I will opt for the nice people and tasty beverage every time.

We walked the rest of the way back to Valbona (which seemed like many miles, but was really only 9 km).

Day 6

Valbona

After getting our butts officially handed to us by the Thethi trail (and the long walk home), we opted to the easiest walk of all, to the Ceremi Road. As we headed out after breakfast, we were joined for the entire walk by Zana, one of the dogs-in-residence at Rilindja.  We took a trail shortcut *** that led to a 4WD road, which was mostly horizontal, which made for a very pleasant and relatively undemanding ramble.

***On which we encountered the (German/ Dutch?) unicyclists who we'd seen earlier at Rilindja. They had hauled their backpacks and cycles up the shortcut trail, and rode on the road. We didn't actually see them do it, but I can't imagine doing it on two wheels, let alone one.

Day 7

Valbona to Prizren

We checked out of our beloved Rezidenca, and caught the 7:15 AM bus to Bajram Curry, a transportation and supply hub of Northern Albania and Kosovo.

The ride from Bajram Curry into Kosovo could give Tuscany a run for its money (OK, I've never actually traveled to Tuscany, but now I feel like I don't have to). Equally compelling was the face of the guy across the aisle from us, who looked like the love child of Peter Zaremba and Harry Dean Stanton.

When we first arrived at Rilindja, we had asked Catherine, our host, about routes to Skopje, and she mentioned how much she liked Prizren, Kosovo.  We decided to leave Valbona one day early to allow us to spend a night there, and boy are we glad we did! To think that if we had gone with our original plan to go to Macedonia via Prishtine,we might have lived our entire lives without experiencing the loveliness of Prizren.

It's kind of touristy, but in a really endearing, unpolished way. It has the central river with charming bridges and  winding streets & alleys of Paris, the verticality and nightly passegiatta famiglia of Napoli, with just enough garbage and power lines to prevent it from becoming the next Brughes. We stayed at a hostel (a first for Bhob), and it lived up to his expectations/ imagination in every way. That's all I'll say about that. It had a fabulous terrace that was especially pleasant in the early morning, when everyone else was still asleep.

Last year in Berat, Bhob had tried raki, a liquor distilled from grapes that apparently every family in Albania makes (since everyone here seems to grow grapes in the back yard). From what I've heard, it is similar to Italian grappa. It was like rocket fuel, and he was unable to finish the shot. This year, he was determined to give it another go, so at dinner, he ordered the mid-priced one (which turned out to be distilled from plums) and he liked it.

I took a sip, and it was a revelation: really smooth, almost like a good tequila. In the spirit of that favorite Rush family aphorism, "What the heck? We're on vacation!", I ordered one for myself, and we spent the next hour enjoying the Prizren people-watching with a warm, raki buzz. Of subsequent shots of raki that we tried on the trip, some were similarly smooth, some had a peppery flavor and some were of the rocket fuel variety that had so vanquished Bhob the previous year.

To justify having brought a nutcracker along, I bought a bag of hazelnuts from some folks selling them on the street (presumably from their own tree), and it was another revelation. I have never tasted anything like them; really pronounced hazelnut flavor, with an almost juicy texture. I didn't try them until the next morning, and I am sorry that I hadn't bought more.

Day 8

 Prizren to Skopje

We took the bus to Skopje, and I had told our next airbnb host that I would call her as were were crossing the border. We had bought a Vodafone disposable phone, and had paid extra for service in Kosovo and Macedonia, but when I tried to make a call, it said "Emergency Calls Only", so when we landed at the bus station, not only were we besieged by "taxi" drivers and panhandlers, but I had to find and use a pay phone to make the call. All of this, coupled with the fact that I have absolutely no knowledge of the Cyrillic alphabet, made it a very disorienting, rattling experience.  We were very fortunate that Emi, our host, gave us all of the information and encouragement we needed to get ourselves to our apartment. The apartment was great, with the obligatory terrace, that was huge and shady (meaning that we would be spending a lot of time out there).

We went to a green market, and not knowing anything about the exchange rate or currency, we basically pointed to what we wanted and handed the vendors a handful of money, which they could have easily taken advantage of, but if my calculations are correct, they were all quite honorable. We then took a walk in the 98-degree heat to the grocery store, which was not only impressively stocked, but in a big mall that was air-conditioned, and therefore the Greatest Mall On Earth (at that moment, anyway). We bought a bottle of delicious Macedonian wine for $2.20, and spent a few hours enjoying it on the terrace before an evening perambulation.

Day 9

Skopje

In the morning, we took in some of the futuristic Brutalist architecture, built after the 1963 earthquake. 

It's a stark contrast to the very gaudy, Vegas-style, European-Capital-As-Designed-By-Homer-Simpson town center.

http://wuwf.org/post/macedonia-goes-baroque-building-binge

We escaped the heat by finding our way to another air-conditioned mall (where I was delighted to find whole cacao beans). We spent mid-day on the terrace, then visited the old bazaar.

Day 10

Skopje to Korce

This was the most logistically tricky portion of the trip, and but knowing that in advance didn't necessarily make it any easier. We took a bus to Ohrid ****, then a bus to Sveti Naum, a taxi to the Albanian border, and then we crossed the border on foot. At this point, we were getting pretty cooked, and the next thrifty step would be to walk 7 km to Pogradec, then get a bus to Korce (presuming there would be one within a few hours). This brought to mind my favorite saying from my friend Kellie's mom: If you have a problem that money can solve, and you have money, you don't have a problem. 

So.

We asked the "taxi" drivers poised just over the border how much to get to Pogradec. Answer: 700 Leke. 

OK.

How much to get to Korce? 3000 Leke. 

Even if we had a big sign on our heads saying "Suckers", I would have agreed to any price. We enjoyed an odd mix of radio music (Scorpions, Madonna, Suzie Quattro, Nirvana) and air-conditioning during the ride. We had planned to tip the driver 500 Leke, but when we got to Korce and we showed him the address, he proceeded to get out of the car at least 5 times to ask for directions (bless his heart), and he eventually deposited us right at the door of the guest house, so we were happy to tip him 1000. The entire 46 km trip cost us $32, including tip. 

The guest house was right behind the big cathedral and the bustling tourist area, but the terrace was quiet, peaceful, shady and cool, so before we headed to our room, we  had coffee and tea there.

We spent the rest of the evening walking around. There was a band (not pictured) playing near the front of the cathedral,

 doing lounge-y instrumental covers, including House Of The Rising Sun and Careless Whisper.

**** Lake Ohrid is one of the oldest in the world. It is 138 square miles, surrounded by hills and small mountains, and quite lovely. The area around it reminded me a bit of Lake Mille Lac (which is 207 square miles, by comparison) in that it was mostly family-oriented resorts for recreation, swimming, boating and fishing.

Day 11

Korce

Another epic breakfast (included with the room, which was $46 a night for 2), comprising coffee, tea, milk, juice, fruit, bread & butter, omelette and cake. And yes, I ate all of it.

Today we walked up to the war memorial, and then down to the end of town with a big park with hiking trails into the hills, and a long promenade, perfect for the nightly parade of friends and families being out and about.

We also went to the old bazaar, parts of which are in some disrepair, but they seemed to be making improvements.

There was an inner building with several aisles of vendors selling homemade/homegrown cheese, honey, olives and olive oil.

Later that day, we walked (way) up to the war monument/martyrs' cemetery.

If I had to live in Albania, I think I would live in Korce. It seemed to have an ideal population density (enough to be "vibrant", but with plenty of elbow room), and was very bike-friendly. It may be at a disadvantage at attracting tourists as it has no river or castle, but I thought it was charming and inviting. There are plenty of winding streets with something interesting to see around every corner.

Day 12

Korce to Berat

Today's breakfast was the same as the day before, but instead of an omelette, there was cheese byrek, and a lightly sweetened cinnamon byrek, which was itself worth the entire trip.

We took an early morning walk, and  happened upon an area where dozens of (mainly) elders were taking their daily constitutional.

We took the mini-bus (which are different from the national buses: faster, smaller, sometimes messier, and in this case, stiflingly hot) to Berat.

They forgot to add the quotation marks

We stayed at the same place that we spent one night last year, but this time we booked it for three.

It had, of course, a fabulous terrace (can you see the theme emerging?). We went down into town for the nightly promenade, and were able to catch the beginning of the Albania vs. Denmark futball game, which was playing at every single bar. It was the only time we saw Albanians wearing clothing with the Albanian colors and flag. In case you were wondering, the game ended 0-0.

Day 13

Berat

Last year, the best byrek we had in Albania were in Berat, so we made sure to try them again, and we were not disappointed. So flaky, so fresh, so filling. And only 28 cents each. How could we pass that up? We ate them in a little gazebo nearby that was covered in trumpet vine.

We walked up behind the castle, joined by a friendly local dog.

At 9 AM, our host drove us to the Çobo Winery for a short tour and leisurely tasting. For 12 euros, we got samples of 5 different wines, a huge plate of homegrown olives, two kinds of cheese, and fresh bruschetta. 

But the best thing was a green walnut raki that was not all all like the other rakis we'd been consuming. This one was infused with numerous herbs (the only one of which I could identify was fennel), and used like a digestif. Of course, we bought two bottles, thus justifying the two wine-transporting "bottle bullies" that we'd brought along that were occupying half of our suitcases.

Such an exhausting morning demanded an afternoon siesta, after which we went down for the obligatory evening promenade

Day 14

Berat 

At about 6 AM, we had the first rain of trip, and it was a downpour for about an hour. 

After that subsided, we had our daily byrek at the trumpet vine gazebo, then walked into the valley, on goat paths (and inadvertently, into some back yards).

 I bought some figs from a street vendor, and it was another revelation. These were nothing like the "fresh" figs you get at a Minnesota grocery store, and now I am ruined forever. Sweet, silky and juicy, sometimes tasting like black tea. Oh, man. I went back and bought some more, because if I didn't, I knew I wouldn't be able to stop thinking about it.

After another siesta, we walked up the hill toward Castle Park (a classy restaurant/hotel complex), and back down.

Day 15

Berat to Tirana

We took an early morning walk along the river (parallel to but lower than the previous night's walk), again encountering the locals doing their own morning exercise. After our last Berat byrek, we caught the bus to Tirana. Since we spent so much time last year walking around the city, we got to our apartment with no problem. On a walk to the central square, we saw our first Albanians in drag. They were very pretty, and brave as hell, since apparently the culture is still very homophobic (though you'd never know it looking at how most of the young men have styled themselves). We had a lunch of (me) sallam sanduiç and (Bhob) vegjetarian tost***** (like a Stouffer's French bread pizza, only good). Walked around a bit,

then dinner at Ginokaster, which specializes in dishes from Gjirokaster, so Bhob was able to get his favorite Albanian food, qifqi- a rice and  mint croquette.

*****We'd seen tost on menus everywhere, but we'd assumed that it meant "toast".

Day 16

Tirana

I just had to revisit Diambe, the ersatz Aldi.

Wearing a shirt from the real Aldi; how meta!

Then we went to the Botanical Garden, which though predictably weedy and desiccated, was not without its charms.

After another lunch of tost (this time a triple decker, white bread panini-esque number, which was still only 120 Leke at an overpriced Big Park kafe), we slowly made our way to the Imperial Theater at the Sheraton for our (almost) private screening of Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation.

For dinner, we went to this place: http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/coffee-shop-supports-albania-s-disabled-youth 

It was a sweet little oasis, with great food, music and ambiance.

It reminded me a bit of the Birchwood Cafe. We liked it so much, we went back the next day for lunch.

Day 17

Tirana

The temperature finally cooled down! We had an early morning walk, while the streets were still peaceful. After breakfast, we picked up all of the souvenirs that we hadn't managed to get last year.

Happy Hour in Tirana. Yes, that is 7 AM, and raki costs the same as water.

After lunch, we went to a bar that had Albanian fernet (another homemade herbal liquor, which is kind of like a non-sweet Jaegermeister), and passed a pleasant hour or so people watching. After a bit more walking, we went home to pack and get ready to leave.

Day 18

Head home

FAQs

What was the exchange rate?

100 leke are worth about 80 cents. 100 Macedonian denar are worth $1.84. 100 euro are worth $113. 35

How much did the whole trip cost?

Here is what it cost or both of us for 18 days:
Airfare $2977.80
Lodging $665.66
Everything else (food, ground transportation, treats, tips, etc.) $754.21

On the ground, we spent $1419.87, or $39.44 per person, per day. Including airfare, the cost was $122.16 per day.

Bear in mind that we indulged our every whim, ate out just about every meal and did absolutely no scrimping.

What was the highlight?

Kosovo!

Any surprises?

Kosovo!

Do either of you have any family connection to the region?

Nope.

How was the weather?

Hot. The days were generally very low humidity, with highs in the mid- to upper-90s, though the nighttime temps were comfortable, upper 40s-lower 60s. It only rained twice, while we were safely indoors.

Why did you choose to travel at that time of year?

Because the trip centered around our stay in the mountains, we didn't want to take the chance of planning it at a time when snow was possible. Normally, I would never travel in the Summer, or during high tourist season. One advantage to traveling in late August is that the harvest was bountiful, and when we bought vegetables from street vendors, they were wicked cheap; a kilo of sweet yellow peppers cost less than 50 cents.

And we got to avoid that whole "State Fair" nonsense.

How were your flights?

No problems, just a minor delay on the final Newark to MSP meant we got picked up at Midnight instead of 11 PM.The inconvenience was more than made up for by the fact that the lead flight attendant sounded just like the honey badger guy.
Total flight time 12-13 hours each way, not including layovers.

I will not speak of the scolding Ice Queen Lufthansa flight attendant.

What movies did you watch on the airplane?

On the way there, Say Anything (which has not held up well, in my expert opinion; the screenplay is clumsy, the Dad subplot cumbersome, and the whole movie is nothing but a set-up for the Boombox Scene which, along with the scenes with Lily Taylor, are the only parts worth watching), and a documentary about champagne. 

On the way back, I Am Legend, Taken, Taken 3 and a documentary about some famous ABBA photo sessions. The volume was too low for anything with meaningful dialogue.

How was the Muslim Meal offered by United Airlines?

Not bad! It seemed to be some sort of chicken curry, with rice and Pakistani-spiced spinach.

Why did you stray so far from your usual healthy eating habits?

It takes a lot of precious time and energy trying to find exactly what I'd normally eat. Sometimes it's more important to be an amiable traveling companion and a gracious guest than it is to be a nutritional purist.

And those byrek are really, really good.

Will you make a return trip to Albania?

Probably not for awhile. The only place there that I haven't been that I'd still like to see is Permeti, and the surrounding area, which aren't very well served by public transportation.  I would love to see more of Kosovo, particularly when Prizren gets more mid-priced airbnb offerings. We are already planning a trip back to Macedonia for next year.

Have things changed in Albania since your visit last year?

Well, lots more people have smartphones.

Overall, we saw lots of improvement, new roads, construction, shoring up infrastructure, etc. Even The Pyramid got a facelift.
 
However, they still haven't gotten the memo about litter.

We think that someone there should do a re-make of that famous PSA commercial with the Native American (portrayed by an Italian-American actor) shedding a tear after seeing a wilderness spoiled by trash, but film it in the Albanian mountains, with an elder dressed in traditional garb.

The other thing that hasn't changed is that most of the day, all over the country, you can still find men of a certain age gathered to play some sort of game with tiles or dice.

Was there any particular song that you heard repeatedly throughout the trip?

Not like last year. This time, it was a lot of generic, autotuned, American-style hip hop. On one bus, I was tormented by Love Shack, a song that will surely track me down me no matter how far I travel.

In Berat, the restaurant across the river played a song on their rooftop deck about four times an hour. We went over there to ask what it was, and they had no idea what song we were talking about. We sing it as:

Scara mouche mouche mouche

Scara mouche mouche mouche

Scara mouche

Scara mouche

Update: Found it!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8eZM4dR5-0

How was this trip different from your last one?

No museums or castles. Fewer movies. More nature and people-watching. And raki. Lots of raki.

What did you do with Stinkerbell while you were away?

She stayed at home, and was well fed and cared for by my friends Rob and Jennifer, who live across the street. I'd like to think that she's glad to have me back

Did you manage to find any additions to your international clothes pins collection?

Why, yes! As a matter of fact, I did:

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Closing Thoughts

My primary objective for most of my trips is to take my daily walk somewhere other than the street on which I live. Anything beyond that is a bonus. By this criterion, I’d say Mission Accomplished.